Minecraft: Pocket Edition Gets Cross-Platform Multiplayer

Today may be the launch day for the OnePlus 3, but it's also the same week for the E3 conference which means there's tons of news on upcoming and currently existing games both for consoles and PC as well as mobile platforms. While, for gamers, much of the most exciting content will have to do with consoles like the PS4 and Xbox One, titles like Mojang's Minecraft: Pocket Edition have seen a little bit of the limelight today as it's now started going through a recently announced update that introduces some worthy new changes and content that any fan of Minecraft would likely appreciate.

Most notable is likely the cross-device multiplayer. Put simply, those who play Minecraft: Pocket Edition on their mobile device will now be able to play multiplayer with gamers on the Xbox and PC platforms who play Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition Beta, as well as with those who play Minecraft: Pocket Edition on iOS and Minecraft GearVR Edition on the Samsung Gear VR. Mojang is calling this the "Friendly Update," and rightfully so as this new cross-platform multiplayer breaks down the barriers that were once prohibiting those on separate platforms from playing with each other.

Alongside the cross-device multiplayer, Mojang has also added the ability for everyone to now access the Realms feature that was previously only available in beta, allowing players to rent professionally maintained Minecraft servers for a small monthly fee. In addition, all players who wish to rent any of the Realms for use, can try the service out for free for the first month before they make a decision to take the plunge. There are other new features in this update of note, not the least of which is the pig riding. Players will now have access to other new content as well, such as horses, City and Plastic texture packs, Pistons, a carrot on a stick, mutton, and of course, jungle temples and zombie villages, because what would the game be without those. The update for Minecraft: Pocket Edition should be live as of now, so if you're a current player, check the Play Store and see if the game is ready to introduce all these new features.

Lover of food, craft beer, movies, travel, and all things tech. Video games have always been a passion of his due to their ability to tell incredible stories, and home automation tech is the next big interest, in large part because of the Philips Hue integration with Razer Chroma. Current Device: Google Pixel.